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Designing Household Survey Questionnaires

Margaret Grosh and Paul Glewwe. 2000. Designing Household Survey Questionnaires for Developing Countries: Lessons from 15 Years of the Living Standards Measurement Study. Volumes 1, 2, and 3. The World Bank.

Governments need accurate, current, and relevant data from household surveys to make sound economic and policy decisions. Analysts need the data to model economic behavior, which can provide answers to important policy questions. For many countries, however, these data are incomplete, unreliable, or out of date. This handbook was developed to remedy this situation. It is a comprehensive treatise on the design of multi-topic household surveys in developing countries. It draws on 15 years of experience from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study surveys and other household surveys conducted in developing countries.

The handbook covers key topics in the design of household surveys, with many suggestions for customizing surveys to local circumstances and improving data quality. Detailed draft questionnaires are provided in written and electronic format to help users customize their surveys.

Designing Household Survey Questionnaires for Developing Countries serves several audiences: survey planners from national statistical and planning agencies, universities, think tanks, consulting firms and international organizations; those working on either multi-topic or topic-specific surveys; data users, who will benefit from understanding the challenges, choices, and tradeoffs in data collection.

A copy of each volume of the book can be downloaded free of charge. However, please note that the pages cannot be edited.